A quaint little coffee shop in the suburbs of a picturesque hill station was suddenly getting crowded with the number of people in the town.

It was a quiet evening and the clouds were embracing the tops of their tips with soft whitish grey cottony clouds. There was a wave of grey clouds moving towards that direction, from far off it looked as if it was pouring.

The coffee shop was beautifully lit in a yellow glow from the lights that hung above each table. The decor was dark and a little sober but the lights seemed to brighten the places right on the tables which were adorned by youngsters and couples, gleefully talking and sipping their hot beverages amidst laughter, coyness, and talk.

The weather was gloomy and the weather forecast had warned people of a downpour. The wind was

getting a little chilly and it was getting suddenly darker than usual. It was a silent evening when nothing was hurried unlike the city, the people moving at a leisurely pace, everything was in pace and it was so quiet and calm there was no hurry and people were enjoying their coffee, their teas, the baked cookies and goodies.

There were pastries of different shapes, sizes and colors, with their unique tastes, there was the aroma of freshly baked cakes, bread and all that waffled in the air and mingled with the chilling was covering everybody in its soft embrace, Johnathan was sitting at the corner table, his usual corner table and was sipping his coffee.

He turned his head towards the sound that arose, announcing someone’s entry into the coffee. It kind of rattled him, coz there was a little commotion kinds, when he looked that somebody had opened the door with the clinging sound of the doorbell and a lady, entered.

One half of her body was a little wet from the rain and it looked like she had just entered to escape the downpour and got into the coffee shop. Her entry was hurried and rushed in a sense, and her arrival was a bit loud and it made a lot of heads turn and look in her direction.

She noticed him right away when he had looked at her and their eyes met in a kind of frenzy, with a mind of its own. It ran all over her features and she also sensed his handsomeness, in a complete glance, their eyes locked on each other for more than the required seconds, and it seemed to create some kind of turmoil in his mind.

He thought, what a lovely damsel from a distance, he could see the sparkle in her eyes, followed by the question in her eyes as to why this guy was looking at me and all.

She was so beautiful, draped in a beautiful yellow chiffon sari with a little bit of work on the edges, a few white flowers printed here and there and one of the petals flying away from its stem.

How the wind bade her pallu* sway, seemed to disturb the petals and fly away from its stem, it looked really bad looking into a stranger's eyes far more than necessary, she turned her eyes and walked up to a table, which was further away from him.

Hoping that the distance would make the stranger turn his head and not look at her. He would mind his business and not disturb her.

She went and sat at the table, the light from the lamp hung above somehow created a hallo around her and she looked quite heavenly from where he saw her and he wanted to talk to her but he had so much of limitations and did not bring himself to go to her and strike a conversation, though his mind had wanted it since the time, his eyes met hers.

He kept coming up with scenarios in his mind and ways to talk to her and kept wondering in his mind what would she think, if a guy out of the blue, walked up to her and talked to her, if someone did the same to him, he wouldn't be fine.

So many questions aroused his mind and made him glued to the chair and never gathered the strength to go up to her and casually open a conversation. But then he didn't want to let go of the desire and kept giving her glances now and then.

She was sitting further away, sipping on her coffee, looking at the rain, enjoying the chill weather, oblivious of his turmoil and the confrontations in his mind.  He ordered some savories' to accompany his drink and while munching on it, he kept looking at her now and then.

She also seemed to be giving him glances now and then and wondered, why is this guy looking at me like this, doesn't he have a better job?

She ordered a cup of tea and some cookies and looked around. She found a bookshelf at the very end of the coffee shop, she got up and went to the bookshelf, looking at the rows of books neatly stacked on display, she selected a nice novel by Jane Austen. Getting back to her seat, she opened the book and started reading it. It was a very popular novel and very good movie adaptations of it were widely renowned across the globe every single student of literature will have at least read that book once, seen the movie or watched the drama adaptations of it. She had read the book previously so many times and had even known the story by heart, but even now the story fascinated her and she slowly got immersed into the novel, kept reading it and then sipping on her tea and munching on her goodies.

The clock seemed to move slowly and the time seemed to stop itself every few minutes and then run slowly, the time went by and the rain doesn't did seem to stop and it was relentlessly beating against the windowpanes and the roads were getting flooded with water.

Wondering when the rain would stop and she would be able to go to the guest house, she just looked up and both their eyes met for a second, she pulled her eyes away and looked for her mobile in the handbag. Pulling it out, she started typing a message.

Johnathan looked at her and wondered, whom is she messaging at this time, and did she had a boyfriend similar questions kept popping into his head. He reminded himself if the heavens above gave him one chance, one small little chance to talk to her, he would trade it up for whatever he was in store for and see how the whole process of talking to her turned.

Probably if she also responded the way he responded, it could lead to something beautiful or go in the direction his heart had wanted. But he didn't dare to get up and go talk to her or ask her for her information and sat there, watching slowly the time ticking away he knew she would get up and go off in another few hours or few minutes and he would have to lose all his hopes and live in the memory of her for a few days.

What would he not do to get to talk to her and want to sit there and reminiscence the sweet moments and then makeup all the courage left in his body to pursue her and make her fall in love with him? But, now he is helpless and doesn’t even know how to go up to her and strike up a conversation with her. He just looked up and sent a silent prayer to the almighty to give him a chance.

He hoped the almighty made things all right for him and he hoped that he would get that small chance to do, what his mind and heart had wanted to for the past hour or so.

He sat reluctantly and ordered another cup of coffee, his cup was empty and he didn't want to let go, he was waiting for another cup of coffee, when out of the blue, while waiting for it between wondered if the chance would come his way.  

Like a parrot repeating the same thing again and again, his mind kept looping on his need for a chance, his thoughts were interrupted by the crackling sound of the radio which was playing some beautiful blue songs of the '60s and '70s and it was nostalgic.

The crackling sound before an announcement caught his attention and added to the annoyance of the song being interrupted, he listened to the radio with adept attention, and when he found her also looking at the radio, he wondered whether she also liked the song that got interrupted.

Already knew that she liked books because she had picked up a book and was sitting reading the book with admiration on her face. So he already knew that she liked to read so he just wondered whether the music would also be according to her taste, which led to the question - what kind of taste in music she had?

Then sadly there was another crackling sound before the radio went silent stopping the favourite song and he couldn't understand why. Why did they stop it in between and he looked at the radio?

His eyes looked at how she also was looking at the radio with a little bit of annoyance on her face so it confirmed to him that it was also her favourite song.  

The crackling static sound grew louder and the voice of the announcer came in bits and pieces before it became a continuous announcement from the radio saying that the rain wouldn't stop for another few hours and it was going to be a continuous downpour and it directed or requested people to stay aware and not kind of not venture out of their houses.

Along with it, they had also asked people to stay wherever they were as long there was no further communication. It advised not to move out and get stuck in the rain because it was going to be a heavy downpour and they didn't want people to get washed away by the rain, so they were advised to be at home or be wherever they were stranded and under no circumstances venture out in the rain till the rain fully subsided or they hear further announcement from the radio station.

On hearing the announcement, he heaved a sigh of relief and reminded himself that these few hours in his hand, were what he exactly wanted. He has to grab it and get hold of the woman, he wants.

With a heavy thundering heart, he turned around and looked at her and just at that moment she also turned to meet his gaze. He just gave a weak smile and waited with baited breath at her and she returned his smile and that began the biggest quest of his life.

As to move forward and talk to her, he got up went up to her table, stood close to it and smiled at her.  

He said, “Hello”

She replied, “Hello”, with a smile spread across her lips.  

“Can I sit here?” asked he.

He had picked up his coffee cup when he moved closer to her, so he sat across from her and looked at her. At close quarters, she looked even more beautiful and he was captivated by her looks and her big round eyes, to avoid making it conscious for her, and he took his cup of coffee and started sipping slowly.

They sat quietly and both of them exchanged glances. His mind woke up and started to warn him, the sentence came into his mind and said, “You asked for a chance and now here it is, so don't get stuck up in your dream world and let go of this, a blessing in disguise, so please go ahead and make use of it and open your mouth and talk to her and get your things done.”

With that reverberation in his mind, he just opened up to her and said, “I think it's going to be raining for some time so why don't we make use of the time and get to know each other if you don't mind.”

Upon hearing it, she just smiled gave him a stern look and said, “Yeah I think we don't have anything else to do so we are standard here it might as well make use of the time that's there at your hand.”

And continued to say, “I am Sheila. I am a literature student I came here to do some research for my recent writings…”

“Oh! That's nice, so you are a writer.” Interrupting her, Johnathan replied.

For which, she just nodded and said, “Yeah, I am a writer. I have written a few books that were collaborated with few other authors and was quite successful but I'm hoping that this book that I am trying to write now will make me quite famous.”

“Wow, so I am meeting up with a famous author. Uh! so your first autograph, as a famous renowned author, should be mine as I am preview to whatever you are writing right now.”

“What makes you think that you are preview to what I am writing, now.”

“Didn't you just say tell me about your new book and since you wanted to write it so beautifully and wonderfully so that the book makes you an instant famous author, you were here to research the book?”

“Yeah, I did but that doesn't mean that you would be a preview to it or you just have high hopes for yourself.”

“Oh! Isn’t it okay, then I'm not looking forward to any preview but I'm hoping that you would at least give me a place on your acknowledgements page.”

“For what for sharing a cup of tea with me, you want an acknowledged place in the  acknowledgements page of my book, eh?!”

“Why should I do that for you? Who are you by the way?” she retorted.

“I am Johnathan, I work in an IT company in the United States of America. I just came down to India for my vacation. I came here to this quaint little hill station yesterday. I usually come here during my vacations, I spend about three to five days here for my inner peace. And I think this year has been a little different for me.”

She is stunned by his sudden revelations, but her mind is stuck at the words of his, where he said, this year was a little different for him. She wants to ask him, why it is different and how?

But she is doubtful, what if his answer hurts her or disappoints her, with a moment of silence she pulls up her imaginary sleeves and with a sense of false pride, asks him – “What way is it so different for you?”

He was anticipating this question from her, he wouldn’t have known how to further continue the conversation, if she had not asked him this question.

With a smile inwardly in his mind, he said, “Well, it is a secret, which I cannot share with you but then I can tell you, it certainly is different, I can only tell you that much.”

She retorts, “Why can't you tell me? Please share the secret, I'm sure I would not write it in my book.”

At which both of them laugh out loud and there is a moment of spark between them, and as if she realizes it, she turns from his glare and looks away.  

To break the awkwardness, Johnathan continues, “A secret is a secret never to be revealed unless you tell me that you would acknowledge me in your book then I would probably consider telling you my secret.”

The sentence breaks the ice between them and they get comfortable with each other and they sit talking about things in their life, keep sharing each other's secrets, good things, bad things, in the process revealing a little bit about themselves.  

They go about talking about their life and how it is going, what plans for the future, what expectations of it, and what each of them wants to do now, and in future.

Minutes rolled into hours and the rain had stopped and there was a little bit of sunshine peeping through the clouds, outside. They didn't even notice when there was also a small announcement on the radio saying it was safe for people to walk around.

Both of them were immersed in each other’s lives, and had forgotten that they were two strangers, who were hesitant to talk to each other were now in a world of their own, in which he was the hero and she was the heroine and the process making a movie of their own, meeting in a coffee shop in a remote hill station, lost in a wonderful and picturesque surrounding, creating and weaving a nice romantic story to be told as a movie for generations that will roll by…!

*Pallu - Is the word for the part of sari(an Indian Attire)worn over the shoulder.